Both the Queen and the Shriners will converge on Queen’s Park today, shutting down traffic all around the provincial legislature. More than 10,000 well-meaning men in their little red hats and teeny-weeny cars will parade down University Avenue at 1 p.m. Road closures are expected to last until 7 p.m., meaning they will still be in effect during the nightly commute.

Queens’ Park circle is already shut down. University Avenue will close down between College and Front at 9:30 a.m.;

“Shriners raises funds for children’s hospitals across North America specializing in orthopedic and burn care, spinal cord rehabilitation and cleft lip and palate treatment. One of those locations is in Montreal.”

It’s hard to argue with that. But after a summer of road closures, arrests, inconveniences and trampled rights, we’re thinking that parade-goers’ smiles might be a little forced.